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Colorado evangelicals now urging immigration reform

By Nancy Lofholm The Denver Post

Posted:
02/23/2013 11:01:32 PM MST

Updated:
02/23/2013 11:03:06 PM MST

Click photo to enlarge

Dave Neuhausel, a pastor with Denver Community Church gives a hug to an undocumented immigrant who is a parishioner at Providence Bible Church, who didn't want to give her name, after a prayer gathering at the church on Feb. 14, 2013 in Denver. Neuhausel and other pastors had gathered for the prayer session. These pastors, all of whom are Evangelical Immigration Table signatories, are part of a movement in the evangelical church who are becoming strong promoters of immigration reform. At left is David Warren, Pastor of Open Door Ministries, and at right is Jason Janz, Pastor of Providence Bible Church. (AP Photo/ The Denver Post, Helen H. Richardson)

DENVER -- Citing a new focus on biblical passages that call for Christians to treat foreigners and strangers well, Colorado evangelicals are turning into a potent force in the push for immigration reform.

Focus on the Family and some of the 200-plus lesser-known evangelical groups and congregations in Colorado have become surprise lobbyers for controversial reforms that include allowing immigrants to remain in the country.

Evangelical leaders say a majority of evangelicals, who six years ago in a Pew Research poll deemed immigrants to be a threat to American culture and a burden on the economy, are making the shift after rereading the Bible with immigration in mind.

Dave Neuhausel, a pastor with Denver Community Church gives a hug to an undocumented immigrant who is a parishioner at Providence Bible Church, who didn't want to give her name, after a prayer gathering at the church on Feb. 14, 2013 in Denver. Neuhausel and other pastors had gathered for the prayer session. These pastors, all of whom are Evangelical Immigration Table signatories, are part of a movement in the evangelical church who are becoming strong promoters of immigration reform. At left is David Warren, Pastor of Open Door Ministries, and at right is Jason Janz, Pastor of Providence Bible Church. (AP Photo/ The Denver Post, Helen H. Richardson)
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Helen H. Richardson
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They have also changed their thinking about immigration as a result of ministering to and mingling with illegal immigrants in church settings.

The shift is taking place on a national level where evangelicals are participating in a 40-day "I Was a Stranger" campaign of praying and studying Scripture related to immigration. But Colorado is one of three states being highlighted by national evangelical organizations in the push to bring evangelical clout to bear on immigration reform. Florida and Texas are also viewed as key states.

The evangelical change from no to pro on immigration reform is not a reaction to the Latino snubbing of the Republican Party in the past election, Colorado evangelical leaders say.

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Instead, it is rooted in an attitude shift that has been several years in the making within a group generally known for social conservatism. It is also rooted, they say, in morality rather than politics.

"We had already developed principles ourselves based on what we believe," said Tom Minnery with Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family. "We had been hoping for a time when progress could be made on the issue. And now, times have changed."

Jason Janz, pastor of the Providence Bible Church in Denver, described the evolution he is seeing in the evangelical movement as "a groundswell."

With 25 percent of voters identifying themselves as evangelicals, and with Latinos forming the fastest-growing group in evangelical churches, it is a groundswell hard to ignore.

"I do think we have the potential to be a very strong voice along with other strong voices," said Janz, whose church holds liturgical services in English, Spanish and Swahili.

Daniel Carroll, a distinguished professor of the Old Testament at the Denver Seminary, attributes the change on immigration to two factors.

One is a new awareness of the "cover-to-cover" messages in the Bible about showing kindness to strangers or sojourners -- references to immigrants, in the evangelical view.

The second is that many churches have been sharing their spaces with Latino churches or have been providing aid to immigrants or actively recruiting them as members. As a result, evangelicals have interacted with undocumented immigrants on a personal basis and have seen how the current immigration laws can tear apart families and demean good people, he said.

"They see these immigrants can actually be an asset and a resource for the majority Christian church," said Carroll, who is serving as the Colorado spokesman for the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition, as well as representing a seminary with more than 1,000 students from a broad political spectrum of 40 evangelical denominations.

Colorado evangelicals have joined a national immigration-reform movement that began two years ago with discussions among evangelical leaders and resulted in the formation of the Evangelical Immigration Table. The group includes more than 150 leaders, including the left-leaning Sojourners Christian ministry and the conservative Southern Baptists.

A week after the November election, the Evangelical Immigration Table sent an open letter to congressional leaders stating their support for "compassionate and just treatment of immigrants."

The letter specifically calls for securing borders, keeping families together and creating a path to legal status or citizenship.

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